‘Bellandor closed his eyes to the sight of his mad brother as though in pain. And though he knew it to be a grave mistake, slowly shook his head.
‘Morlock then gave Bellandor a brief look that chilled him to the marrow; then he turned and left, never to return.
‘Shaken, Bellandor leaned against one of the many pillars that supported the beautiful, airy, open Library of Nith, for so this place used to look. The older structure is still there to see, if one looks carefully. Looking up mournfully at this great, graceful and wonderfully ornamented building, Bellandor had said with a sigh, “Alas, that you must become like my brother’s mind, fortified, forever closed and dark inside, accessible only at need when the world outside impinges. Ah, Ignorance! Ignorance!” He shook his fist at the heavens as though they had betrayed him. And then, realising the import of the direction of his blame, he knelt to the ground and wept.’
Mraan frowned. ‘There are some elements of truth in the tale. The Library was fortified, but for reasons other than those given in the story. The Elid-hranin are evil, but they have always been so.’
Haloch nodded as he reached for a tray holding dozens of crude glass pots, each containing various amounts of the coloured substances used to “paint” illustrations. It was an odd characteristic of these substances that their power was latent until the illustration began taking shape.